hands going numb???

anybody out here have an idea why my left hand, always, and right hand, sometimes, are going numb while I am on my road bike? I think there must be some fit issue, but I used to race, have been riding bikes my entire life, am not a jong, and know how to fit a bike. This is not a problem I have experienced in a very long time and never on any of my mountain bikes. I'm 6'2", 175lbs, 33" instep, ride a 58cm compact geometry frame with a 90mm, 6deg stem, and 44" bars. the bike feels like it fits really well, but 1/2 hour into a ride, my left hand starts to tingle and today, on and off, and it did not stop for the next hour? thoughts?...

not real stoked on taking the bike to be professionally fit cause i know they will want to sell me new parts that I don't need.....

the bike's too small, the geometry's too compact...and you are old

an idea i heard: boulder center for sports medicine does very good bike fits through andy pruitt (sp?), but they're expensive. and since they're not a shop, I doubt they're gonna sell you any parts. see if you can get the fit billed as a "rehab expense" and put it on your insurance.

btw i talked to max and neither of us know shit about the steamboat pass, but i bet it will come available sometime in sept.

hand numbness is usually a compression of the ulnar nerve as it runs thought the medial part of the palm.

For some it is a fit issue, for others it is a cumulative trauma issue from years of compression.

Definitely have a pro bike fit. You might also try bar padding under your cork tape to give a bit of a softer bar. Also look for gloves that have a groove at the base of the palm on the pinky side that is designed to reduce compression to the ulnar nerve.

your whole hand or parto f your hand (what part) your arm too?

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Originally Posted by Vinman

hand numbness is usually a compression of the ulnar nerve as it runs thought the medial part of the palm.

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ding ding ding.

go buy some pearl izumi gel gloves at performance. they have a cutout on the palm to minimize pressure on the nerve.

your bike fits just fine.

worth a try to raise your stem some.

I had the same issue with my mtn bike, and it happened early in the ride more often- when my camelback was fuller and heavier. I did a clinic with Dave Nash from RipStoke and he thought it was because I was too extended as well. I put on a shorter stem and haven't had any problems at all since, even w full water.

homemadesalsa

I also get the numbness thing in my left hand on my hybrid. To make it worse, my last two rides have also resulted in what feels like an extremely pulled left lat. I can hardly move for a couple days after the ride (25 miles). I don't know what the hell's going on. I wear the exact Pearl Izumi glove mentioned above and it didn't do anything for the numbness. I'd gladly ride numb every time to get rid of the pulled lat thing, though. WTF?

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Originally Posted by homemadesalsa

I had the same issue with my mtn bike, and it happened early in the ride more often- when my camelback was fuller and heavier. I did a clinic with Dave Nash from RipStoke and he thought it was because I was too extended as well. I put on a shorter stem and haven't had any problems at all since, even w full water.

homemadesalsa

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that was my first thought and I immediately put a shorter stem on the bike - went from 110 to 90. it feels good, but i think an even shorter stem would feel better. I was thinking about getting a new set of bars that are flatened across the top to reduce pressure on the ulnar nerve, as that was the first thing a search indicated.... thanks for chiming in boys...

Sounds like you have more roadie background than me, but here is one thought.

I got a biomechanics fit from a coach last week, and he was insistant about "playing piano on the handlebars". He wanted me to focus on keep the pelvis tilted back, so that you can hold your hands right above the bars without touching them. It takes alot of abs, and it is going to take me some practice.

It definately will keep pressure off the hands.

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Originally Posted by Huckwheat

Sounds like you have more roadie background than me, but here is one thought.

I got a biomechanics fit from a coach last week, and he was insistant about "playing piano on the handlebars". He wanted me to focus on keep the pelvis tilted back, so that you can hold your hands right above the bars without touching them. It takes alot of abs, and it is going to take me some practice.

It definately will keep pressure off the hands.

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interesting... i'll try it out...

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Originally Posted by Huckwheat

I got a biomechanics fit from a coach last week, and he was insistant about "playing piano on the handlebars".

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that is a fantastic, concrete analogy. i'll have that in mind the next time i ride. thanks for sharing, HW.

I say Take advantage of the Situation...........The stranger......

If your problem is only affecting one hand, the answer is obvious- you need to start using your other hand to masturbate with. I am an ambidextrous monkey spanker, and have never encountered the problems you describe.

usually this arises from 2 isues and one leads to the other.

1) Too much weight forward on your hands which leads to
2) ulnar nerve compression.

You have already raised and shortened your stem, try flipping it to get more angle on it, it will put a bit more weight on your butt and off of your hands. Specialized has a range of stem lengths with different angle shims that you can mess with.

The second issues has already been discussed properly so I won't really add to it.

Don't make the mistake of saying "I used to race all the time, i know how a bike fits". The fitting of bikes for just riding is pretty different these days and your body may have changed since then. My race set-up and normal riding setup are pretty different. Marshal says the bike fits which is good, but don't rely upon older fuzzy memories of how you think it was. Small tweaks make a pretty big difference on how your body feels at the end of the day.

You might also try tilting the nose of the saddle ever so slightly up. That position should help you bring weight off your hands.

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Originally Posted by AKWL

You might also try tilting the nose of the saddle ever so slightly up. That position should help you bring weight off your hands.

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Yea and then maybe something else will go numb! :eek:

Do what Vinman said, then what Huckwheat said.